Let’s talk about the proverbial elephant that is always in the Swiss watch room: the quartz crisis. By the early 1970s, quartz movements were more accurate and cheaper to produce than mechanical movements, leading to turmoil across the industry, particularly impacting Swiss manufacturers. Though Seiko is credited with presenting the first quartz watch in 1969, some speculation suggests that Rolex was the first to develop a quartz movement. Following a variety of quartz Datejust models in the late 60s and early 70s, the “Oyster Quartz” collection was launched in 1977 with a unique integrated bracelet design.